Music of the spheres After President Barack Obama's speech at Kennedy Space Center, I think I'm pretty much with him and Buzz Aldrin on the new direction for NASA. I can understand the view of Neil Armstrong and others who feel that by not defining a specific near-term goal for NASA to accomplish (namely to return to the moon in a government spacecraft by some target date), Obama seems to be pulling the plug on human spaceflight for the USA. But the operative word there is seems – because a specific goal without the funding to achieve it is really not a goal at all, and certainly not a near-term one. It's more like a wish, accompanied in the case of the Constellation program by the hope of keeping many of the employees and contractors who now work on the shuttle employed for the many years it would take to get Ares I and Orion off the ground, at least until some cash-strapped future president finally cancels these programs. There was no serious plan or funding for the moon lander. But maybe if enough people believed in Constellation (like Tinkerbell the fairy), it wouldn't die. I don't know. I love the Apollo program and all it accomplished, but it really doesn't seem like a sustainable approach without a Cold War imperative and the willingness to pump a lot more money into NASA than anyone has done since probably 1967. And as Elon Musk of SpaceX said in this statement, “The president quite reasonably concluded that spending $50 billion to develop a vehicle that would cost 50 percent more to operate, but carry 50 percent less payload was perhaps not the best possible use of funds.” So what do we have now? A couple of specific human spaceflight goals for “the next decade” that are quite far off (2025+) and not too detailed. A reinstated and scaled-back Orion capsule which will serve as a development platform for future human spacecraft and provide a government-built option for emergency escape from the ISS, which will be extended by five years to 2020. And a plan to develop the Ares V, a heavy lift vehicle that could support a variety of programs in future years. Plus more funding to encourage privately developed spacecraft and launch vehicles - call it the “private option,” And more funding for NASA to develop advanced propulsion systems and other technologies that will be needed for future missions but are too risky for companies to handle as “product development.” Note that they are actually increasing NASA's budget by $6 billion over the next five years to help support these plans. So all things considered, I think it's a pretty good plan, and President Obama summed it up pretty well in his speech: Fifty years after the creation of NASA, our goal is no longer just a destination to reach. Our goal is the capacity for people to work and learn and operate and live safely beyond the Earth for extended periods of time, ultimately in ways that are more sustainable and even indefinite. And in fulfilling this task, we will not only extend humanity's reach in space – we will strengthen America's leadership here on Earth. – flyingsinger.blogspot.com Children's art Last February, I did art with second-graders. It was like herding cats! Cute, quirky, adorable, defiant, creative, wandering, sassy, sloppy, funny cats!! ;^) It was a fundraising project. The kids draw pictures and the parents wer supposed to buy tote bags, coffee mugs, mousepads, etc. with their kids' drawings on them. I suggested the kids draw themselves or their favorite place. Questions: “Can we draw weapons? Can I draw my mom? Can I draw myself with my favorite place in the background? Can I draw my dog? Can I draw Washington, DC? Can I draw a made-up place? Can I draw anything else besides those things?” We had only 40 minutes for the project. Some kids dug in right away, and others started meticulously sketching with pencils. Argh! Just color already! One kid drew a train on the front of his paper, and started to draw Washington, DC, on the back, then had a major confidence crisis and wanted to start over. I finally moved him to a table away from the other kid who was kinda harshing his vibe, and convinced him to stick with the train picture. It turned out super cute. One kid kept getting up to see what everyone else was doing, and did not like it when I told her repeatedly to sit down and finish her picture. When I put my hands on her shoulders once to guide her back to her seat, her body stiffened up; I tipped her backward a tiny bit for fun (like I do with my son), and she was my buddy from that point on. Another kid drew his face, and when I playfully pointed out that he hadn't added freckles like I saw on his face, he smacked his forehead and exclaimed, “ I knew you were going to say that!” Then he added freckles. Two kids drew castles and peace signs and rainbows. They were the groovy girls. One kid drew McDonald's, one kid drew Denny's, and one kid drew Wal-Mart. It was awesome! – animperfectlife.blogspot.com Nobel Prize stolen ON April 10, Stephen Beaulieu was arrested for having broken into the home of my former Harvard colleague, the 2005 physics Nobel prize winner Roy Glauber (84). He did it in March: Boston Herald. t just happened that the Nobel Prize – the medal plated with 24-carat gold – has been missing for weeks. At least that's what Glauber's family says. Beaulieu says that he has nothing to do with the medal. His defense sounds logical: when you break into the home of a Nobel Prize winner, it's inconceivable that you could actually steal the Nobel Prize medal - especially if they also own a kitchen blender. Personally I view this story as an entertaining one. By the way, I am also missing my historical signet of the royal city of Pilsen from 1307 which I received years ago... Some other Nobel prize winners explain that they use a facsimile of the Nobel Prize medal with brass while others sent Glauber condolences. I won't send Glauber any condolences. After all, when I saw the headline for the first time, I thought that Glauber himself was missing which would arguably be more serious.
